The Never Ending Poker Battle

THE BATTLE BETWEEN ONLINE VS LIVE POKER PLAY

Some live players don't agree with them. Some online players don't care for a physical table. For years, there has been a battle between some, arguing which type of poker, live or online, is better for the game. If you are one of these people who argue this or if you are on the fence of which one you should play, Got 'Em is here to hopefully help.

If you were born early enough, try to go back and remember the first time you played a hand of poker. Sitting at a dining room table, or a table with a poker top, or even an actual poker table. Remember your nerves going bonkers when you were dealt Aces. Not really knowing what to do so you bet 2X the blind. Hand plays out and you win. You immediately fall in love with the game. With live poker, there are so many things that come into play that make the game so great! The feel of the cards, the sound of chips being shuffled or thrown into the pile, being able to stare into the soul of your opponents, the massages you can get at a casino (for a price). There is nothing like feeling the emotion or the energy of a poker room! One of the main reasons why some love only live poker is the because of the human interaction. 

Sitting at a table and having conversations with another human being helps your game out so much. You just hit a 1/3 game. Table has 6 active players. You take your seat and immediately start profiling each player mainly based off their appearance and chip stack. You don't have to know a single thing about any of them but you've already got an idea of what types of players you are about to go against. As the game goes on, you strike up to the gentleman to your right. You start small talk, name, where are you from, family, job, blah blah blah. Even though it's small talk, you are gauging him based of his demeanor, his tone, his engagement to you. From there you start watching how he acts when he is dealt his cards, how he bets, how he reacts to bets. The interaction and observation can teach you so much about your players and it teaches you how to play that type of person. You may not even be a talker and that's fine! You can gain any and all information from listening and watching. Pick up every little thing you can and you it to your advantage.

If you are a talker and you have a table of talkers, you build a poker bond, if you will. What's one of the main topics that people talk about at a poker table? Poker of course. Talking poker with other players, while poker players, gives you more of an insight of how a player plays, and you get to learn! Some opponents may even tell you weaknesses in your game. If this happens, take it unless its a donkey who chased to the river to hit his flush and then tries to give you poker lessons. Don't know why but there is always one at a table. Use the art of conversation to your advantage!

There are some downsides to playing live, sadly. For instance, live games can be really, really, really slow. Whether it is a cold deck or just players who like to take their sweet time trying to figure out if they should play 7-4 suited. A slow game can drain a players interest and their chips. Some players will be apart of a slow game and the high energy feeling they had entering, is slowly diminished, causing his focus to slip. These same players make a big mistake and continue playing. Advice - If you are in a slow game and start to lose focus, GET UP AND LEAVE THE TABLE! In tournaments, this helps because you get blood flowing through your body and clears your mind. In cash games, this saves your bankroll.

In cash games, slow games can really hurt you! If you are a player who uses poker and your source of income, a slow came can kill your hourly pay. If you go in and want to make X-amount an hour, a slow game will surely put you in a bind. 

Let's move to online poker....

The main reason and the only reason why online poker is great.... you get to sit at home, in your underwear, and eat that bucket of cheese balls from Costco, with no shame......

Ok, that is not the main and only reason. With online poker, not only are there fast games, no physical interactions with other people, and really cheap games to play. The ability and option to play multiple games at one time help sharpen a players style. "Doesn't that effect a players focus or concentration?" if you just got an account on one of the online poker sites today, do not jump into 12 games at one time. You will probably lose all 12. Your professional online players built their game up to multiple tables over time. Sure there are probably a few that jumped out there and did 4-6 games at once but if you are new to online play, just start out slow and get a feel for it. From then on, if comfortable, do 2 tables, 4 tables, etc. In addition to doing multiple tables, you stand the chance of making more money an hour. Some grinders have found that they can actually make a better living off of online play compared to live play. 

Another good reason to play online is the amount of games that are available. When you go into a casino's poker room, you probably are going to have mainly cash NL/PL Holdem games, and OMAHA. With online poker you can play these as well as Razz, Seven Card Stud, HORSE, 2-7 Triple Draw, and many more games. These games and more may be available at casinos but you need to check prior to going to one. With being able to play so many different types of games, you increase your flexibility, experience, and knowledge. 

One of the things that is a positive for online poker, can also be a negative thing. The speed of the games. Sure you can play 4 MMTs at once but that's a chance of losing more money at one time. If you are a multi-table player, you stand the chance of losing money quicker than you were to at a live table. 

Technical issues fall into a negative side of online poker. When was the last time you heard of a live game being postponed because the Dealer needed to be fixed? A Majority of the casinos have tables 24/7. With online poker, you stand the chance of waking up at noon, like you usually do, pour yourself a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, turn on your computer and log-in into your designated poker site, and then see a message saying something along the lines of "Site Down For Maintenance." 4 hours later.....the site is still down. Does this happen all the time? Probably not but when you are a grinder and it does happen, the 4 hour down time just cut into your wallet.

Some of you who read this may think that this is helpful information or help you lean more towards one kind or the other. Others of you may read this and completely disagree with everything posted. That is totally fine  and you are allowed your opinion (please leave a comment). The truth of the matter is, both types of poker is great for poker! Live poker allows us to obtain reads and seek tells on opponents. Online poker allows us to play multiple tables at once, making us think faster on our decisions. Both can be very profitable and both can make you broke. The greatest thing about them both is that they are not exactly the same. 

Hit the tables and build your experience and knowledge with actual people. If you've tried it and feel like you are more of an online player, go check out some online sites. If you need help with online poker info or sites, check out our friends over at Professional Rake Back. There they have news, info, and opinions on all things that are online poker. They even have a list of sites you can check out!

Hope this was informational and helpful. If you liked this post, please leave a comment and share. Best of luck to you on the tables and in life.